Video playing as soon as you load a web page can be annoying, especially if you're in public or on a mobile data connection. Here's how to disable autoplaying video in Chrome.

A quick and easy way to stop videos autoplaying in your browser

How to stop autoplaying ads, videos and media in Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

The latest update to the Google Chrome browser (Chrome 66) mutes autoplaying media on the web, but what about stopping autoplaying video altogether? Fortunately the process is really easy: here's how to stop autoplaying video, whether you're using a desktop or mobile browser.

Launch Chrome

Type chrome://flags/#autoplay-policy into the address bar and hit Enter

Click on the drop-down menu next to Autoplay Policy, which should currently show Default

Select 'Document user activation is required'

Click the 'Relaunch Now' button at the bottom of the page

Muting autoplaying audio in Chrome

For a little while now it's been easy to instantly mute audio in Chrome by right-clicking a browser tab and selecting that option, but now Google is making muted audio the default. This change is found in version 66 of Chrome.

In a desktop browser you can check you're running the latest version by launching Chrome, typing chrome://settings/help and pressing Enter.

If you're not running the latest version, Chrome should automatically update and then prompt you to relaunch the browser. Make sure you've saved any open forms first.

On a smartphone, check Google Play or the App Store for any available updates.

There are some exceptions in which you may continue to hear autoplaying audio, such as when you've previously interacted with a domain, if you've previously played video with sound on the desktop, or if you've added the site to your phone's home screen.